Don’t Drop the Ball

by Jill Southern

27 April 2016

..fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God..

Hebrews 12:2, NIV

Recently, I have been watching the International Rugby, because my husband is a great fan.

As the English player was running to the touch line to score, my husband jumped out of his chair shouting, “Don't drop the ball! Don't drop the ball!”

This caused me to wonder if, when running our daily race for Jesus, he would shout to us today: “Keep your eye on the ball! Hang on to the ball! Don't drop the ball! Keep your eye on the ball!”

The Bible tells us in our verse today to fix our eyes on Jesus because He’s the author and perfecter of our faith. Jesus alone is the reason why we’re running our race at all. He’s the One who strengthens us to run to victory.

Jesus must be the source of our authority. Jesus is our head so we need to keep our eyes fixed on Him, because we’re His body, and therefore, must be obedient to what He tells us to do. We must have the mind of Christ in these dark days, and not be distracted by the enemy tactics, such as lies and deception, which he uses to intimidate us like a giant rugby player heading straight for us with the intention of getting us to drop the ball, and stealing it from us.

Hang on to the ball! To me, this means hanging on to the truth of God’s word in a hostile and unbelieving world. Maybe, as in the game of rugby, others are fighting us and making it difficult for us to hang on to the Word. An example is the ridiculing of the truth of God about creation, and replacing it with a man-made theory of evolution. Or when the politically correct laws of the country challenge us not to witness to God’s truth. This can sometimes be like a rugby tackle, or even a foul, as when, for instance, someone is in danger of losing her job as a nurse for praying in the name of Jesus for a sick person.

Don’t drop the ball! When the going gets really tough, don’t lose the ball. Don't walk away and give up. It may cost us everything to hang on to our faith in Jesus Christ when the enemy is doing all in his power to stop us from reaching the touch line, finishing our race, and hearing those wonderful words, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew 25:21).

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, thank You that You are the author and the perfector of our faith. Please help us not to take our eyes off you and so drop the ball, when running our race. When the enemy appears huge and intimidating, help us in those times not to focus on the enemy but to look to You, so we may finish well the race that You’ve set before us. Amen.

Jill Southern is the founder of Ellel Ministries Pierrepont and directed the work for 21 years. She has recently stood down from that role but still teaches on the NETS programme and has the passion to train and equip God`s people to fully walk in their destiny and calling. She is the Regional Director for Ellel Ministries International in South East Asia and China and is also on the Executive Leadership of the ministry.

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.